Alabama Set to Execute Inmate Using Controversial Nitrogen Hypoxia Method

Kenneth Eugene Smith's Scheduled Execution Would Be the First of Its Kind in the U.S., Sparking International Outcry

Kenneth Eugene Smith, a death row inmate in Alabama, is scheduled to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial and untested method. This would be the first execution of its kind in the U.S.
Smith was convicted in the 1988 killing of a pastor's wife as part of a murder-for-hire scheme. He survived a botched lethal injection in November 2022.
Experts warn that nitrogen hypoxia may cause the condemned person to suffer unnecessarily while also threatening the health of others in the room.
Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi are the only states that currently permit the use of nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative execution method.
The Vatican-affiliated Sant’Egidio Community has made a last-minute appeal to halt the execution, calling the method 'barbarous' and 'uncivilized'.